1
IT ISN’T EASY BEING…
"I
am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am
saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and
I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his
notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you
believe the prophets? I know you do."
Then
Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can
persuade me to be a Christian?"
Paul
replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are
listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." Acts
26:25-29
I use to have a friend named
Aberdeem. He was living at Cedar Lane Missionary Homes when I knew him. He was
an Arab, but he couldn't safely return to his native country or to his family,
because he had a price on his head. If he went home, he could be killed. What
was his crime? He was a Christian. I don't know what happened to him since. The
last I saw him, he and his wife were departing to France as missionaries
bringing the Gospel to the Muslim enclave in Paris.
Just this month a leading
Christian Church leader, Zhang Mingxuan, was arrested, his property confiscated
and his life threatened, not for the first time. It isn't easy being Christian
in China.
Compared to many parts of
the world, being Christian in the United States is a piece of cake. It may not
always be so. In fact, since I read my Bible, I know it won't always be so.
Someday being openly Christian will be a death-defying act.
Despite the relative freedom
to express one's views here, it still isn't easy being a blatant and unashamed
Christian in our society. There are a number of expressions we Christians
use and actions we take that others sometimes don't understand or get outright
angry about. Yet as Christians, I don't think we can get around saying and
doing such things.
I thought maybe I would do a
few posts from my own viewpoint on this "Born Again stuff, that just don't
make sense", and why we are "so intolerant and exclusive" and
how come we won't "keep our belief to ourselves" and how we dare
"say somebody is a sinner and going to Hell" and why we say "you
can't call Jesus just a good guy".
I'll try to keep things
simple in the posts that follow.
I just want to leave this
introduction with a couple of thoughts.
First, you are free to
believe whatever you want. No one can force Christianity on you. Yeah, I know,
people have tried that in the past. They were wrong to try because force
doesn't work. If I stuck a gun to your head and told you to say you believed in
Jesus Christ or I'd pull the trigger, and you said, "I believe in Jesus
Christ", it doesn't make you a Christian. It just means you didn't want to
die. It does makes me a terrorist, who deep down probably isn't really a
Christian either.
Also, don't complain that I
write about God. I want people to read my posts, but nothing is making anyone
read what I write. There are millions of Blogs out there. If you don't like
mine, you can find some you do like elsewhere. There is nothing about my Blog
to trick you into reading it. My bias is pretty clear right from the git-go.
The subtitle is "Musings and ruminations of my personal journey to
God". I know that doesn't narrow it down to Christianity, but a quick
perusal of my post titles and the Statement of Faith some where down the right
column will pretty much cinch where I'm coming from.
Don't expect me to claim I'm
absolutely right about all things. I'm learning as I go, too. Nor am I
pure as the driven snow. I know full well what a sinner I am and although I
have never been into bumper-sticker philosophy, there is one I agree with:
"Christians aren't Perfect - Just Forgiven".
Now, I have heard some
people claim Christians are telling them to go to Hell. I don't know of any
true Christian who would ever tell you to go to Hell. What we are trying to
tell you is don't go to Hell. The last thing a Christian wants is for
anyone to go to Hell. We don't want you to go to Hell because we love you.
That's right, we love you -- we may not like you a lot-- but as one of
God's fellow creatures, we do love you and we want you to go to Heaven.
Sorry if loving you and
wishing you well offends you, but that goes with being Christian. I'll
talk more about what it means in my mind being "one-of-those"
Christians in my next posts.
By the way, the verses that
opened this post are one of only two passages where the word Christian appears
in the Bible. The other is in Acts 11:
Now those who had
been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as
Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them,
however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to
Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand
was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the
Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they
sent Barnabas to Antioch.When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God,
he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their
hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great
number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to
look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole
year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The
disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Acts 11:19-26
2
BEING MYSELF IS NOT BEING…
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces
all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2
Corinthians 3:17-18
Being myself is not being
Christian. What does that mean? Am I saying I'm a phony? Is it a matter of
being a Christian on Sunday and my real self the rest of the week? Am I a
hypocrite?
No, not at all.
I don't put on a halo to go
to church. I don't have a halo. What I have is a human nature and my human
nature just loves itself. Myself wants what it wants for its self. Myself is
full of selfish ambition and vain conceit. Myself wants to wear a T-shirt
saying "I'm looking out for Numero Uno and Numero Uno is me and I'm proud
of it". Myself wants to be one of those guys who say "winning isn't
everything, it's the only thing and I'll always be a winner and you'll never be
higher than second place and thus a loser." Myself wants to shout,
"I'm me and you're not". Myself doesn't want to believe in God, it
wants to be god. In other words, myself is a damned fool.
Literally a damned fool I
was.
Once.
That's because once Myself
thought it had the field all to it self. Maybe it did, but it was blind to the
fact the field was surrounded by a high fence that kept me a prisoner in my own
little weedy backyard. Myself didn't know a world of Roses and Lilies, only
Dandelions it could pluck when they turned white and blow their seed to infest
the yard. Myself knew only the nuisance of the Sweetgum and not the sweetness
of the Fig Tree and thought this was just fine.
And even if Myself sometimes
felt somehow trapped, what could be done about it? Occasionally Myself had a
sense there was a fence, but knew he couldn't climb over it because it was too
high.
But one day Myself skidded
and fell on some Sweetgum nuts and banged his head against that fence. It
moved. When that fence was erected, its Creator put in one loose plank to allow
escape. It wasn't easy to find. But once found one could escape the fence, if
one just reached out and accepted the plank was loose enough to push through
the narrow opening.
Myself didn't think it was
possible. Myself wanted to forget it and get up and blow some more Dandelion
seeds in the air. But something said there is much more beyond the fence if
you're willing to admit the Sweetgums and Dandelions aren't all that great or
good for you and accept this escape.
So I crawled through the
fence and suddenly Myself wasn't alone in me. There was Myspirit as well.
Myself and Myspirit don't
get along real well. they bicker and argue all the time. Fortunately for me,
Myspirit usually wins. Granted, Myself sometimes makes an end run and leaves
Myspirit behind temporarily. But Myspirit always catches up and keeps me from
getting hurt falling on another Sweetgum. Now I want to sow Lilly and Rose
seeds in the world for the enjoyment of my neighbors, not just spread
Dandelions for my own pleasure.
Granted, Myspirit is like my
muscles. I have to perform some exercises regularly to make it stronger. Myself
isn't completely knocked out yet, but Myspirit is working Myself over pretty
well. I know the battle won't be over until the last bell sounds on my life,
but I want Myspirit to be way ahead on Rounds.
You see, I don't want Myself
to be the center of attention. I want Myself to be like a black backing on a
mirror, a mirror that when gazed at doesn't show me my own face to either fret
over or admire, but one that reflects Christ all the time. I don't want to be
bragging about my accomplishments, but reflecting what God accomplishes using
me.
I'm not completely there
yet. I have a ways to go. Myself still jumps in my path too much. But Myspirit
is working on my muscles and I'm not tripping over Myself quite as often.
Please be a coach and pray
for Myspirit. I will pray for yours anyway.
3
JOINING THE SS IS BECOMING…
"There
is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who
understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they
have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even
one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice
deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full
of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace
they do not know." There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Adam and Eve did not have to seek
God. He was already there when they were created. They had a nice cozy
relationship going, much like we had with our parents as children. Our early
life was very similar in many ways. For most of us, our needs were met, our
food was provided, we felt loved and safe. We may have had some chores about
the house. We also were given some rules, things our parents insisted we didn't
do. But we probably did some anyway and hoped they never found out. Most times
they did.
What if our parents weren't home and
we had done something we shouldn't and suddenly heard our parents come. And to
make it worse, we were naked.
The first thing, we would probably
grab anything to cover ourselves. Then we'd try to play innocent and when that
didn't work, perhaps we'd blame someone else.
Our parents wouldn't be fooled for a
moment. They'd tell us to put on some clothes and then dole out our punishment.
The worse part of all, trust would be lost and our relationship to our parents
would be different from that point.
There is something about being naked
in certain situations. It has nothing to do with sex. It is a feeling of
vulnerability, of being exposed and humiliated.
Adams and Eve had broken trust with
their parent and felt vulnerable in their nakedness because all about them was
exposed, their crime, their guilt, their shame. They didn't seek God now either.
They feared his coming. They tried inadequately to cover both their bodies and
their guilt and failed in both. God provided covering for both and it changed
everything. The covering required the shedding of blood and the death of an
innocent animal. Pain and suffering resulted from their misdeed. And from that
point man and woman dressed in skins that reminded them that though created in
the image of God, they had descended to a level with animals.
Sin had begun and Mankind was driven
from the Garden. A fence was being constructed. Mankind added sin to sin and
plank by plank the fence was made. A sinful person cannot come face to face
with the Holy God and live. There was a barrier between God and his creature.
Now we know that
whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every
mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no
one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather,
through the law we become conscious of sin.
We have a dilemma. We have a fence
between us and God. We cannot communicate with God through the fence. Even if
we spend hours on our knees praying, we will receive no answer as long as we
fail to recognize we sin.
We don't like that word sin. It's
insulting, offensive. We rationalize it away, say what we do doesn't hurt
anyone or isn't nearly as bad as what some do or everybody does it or nobody is
perfect. Much of this is true from a worldly view. There are some things
everybody does, such as lying occasionally.
Does majority behavior make it right?
Is theft less wrong because someone else stole more than you did? Is someone
less guilty of theft because they stole less than you? You have it correct that
no one is perfect, but does the fact that others commit wrongs make the wrongs
you commit right?
And what makes you so sure the things
you do don't hurt anyone? Running stop signs doesn't hurt anyone unless
one day you hit someone as a result. If what we do doesn't hurt someone it is
more a matter of luck than reality and the odds are not in your favor. And
remember if you are rationalizing a behavior with the statement it doesn't hurt
anyone, it means you know you are doing something you shouldn't.
Of course here we have been thinking
in terms of worldly laws and deportment. If I show up at a black-tie affair in
a tuxedo and white sox it may be considered a breach of decorum, but it is not
a sin, even if someone remarks, "he showed up wearing white sox, what a
sin." The Law that makes us conscious of sin is God's Law and sin is
disobedience of God's will and commandments.
So some are sighing in relief because
they are Atheists and don't believe in any god, big or small G. If sin is
disobedience to God and there is no God than they cannot sin. Very true if they
are right and there is no God; however, if there is a God than they have sinned
by disbelief. But even if they believe there is no God and no such thing as
sin, they surely must recognize there are some things they do that just
shouldn't be done.
Agnostics have all kinds of problems,
but that is a large subject suitable to its own post.
Those who do believe in a god or gods
may acknowledge the existence of sin, but still may resist recognizing it as a
force in their own life, that sin dominates their way of thinking and that they
have a fence around them that barricades them from God. They may be told they
are a sinner. They may even know they are a sinner and it is destroying their
peace of mind, but think, there is no hope, they can't help it.
Like an alcoholic who is pouring his
or her life out with the whiskey in the bottle, yet longs to be sober, but
remains a slave to drink, a sinner may long to be free, but can't break through
the fence. Is there hope.
An alcoholic can go to AA (Alcoholics
Anonymous). To truly begin an escape from drink they must accept the First
Step: "We
admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become
unmanageable."
This is the first and hardest step to
salvation. We must admit we are powerless over sin - that our lives have become
slaves to it. This is a very difficult admission for us, but a necessary
one if we ever hope for a relationship with God and His Forgiveness. If we will
not admit we are each a sinner we cannot go any further.
Yet, to reach God we must join SS.
The ferocious picture that
illustrated this piece is actually a detail from a less frightening
4
TAKING THE NARROW PATH IS BECOMING…
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.” Matthew
7:14
Before I became an SS
member, I didn't see any fence. I believed I was a free man with no barrier to
impede where I was going. In actuality, I was not free and there
was a barrier, however; there wasn't anything impeding where I was going
because I was going to Hell. Some might say, hey, one outta three ain't
bad! Yeah, a .333 batting average is great for baseball, not so good in the
game of eternity.
I called myself an Atheist
in those days, so I didn't believe in Hell. Didn't like the word sin, silly
word. Oh, I accepted there were rules and some were very good and should be
obeyed. I didn't think it was okay to murder someone for instance. Stealing was
a bad thing, relatively speaking. It wasn't right to go holdup a store. But if
you bought something at the store and the clerk gave you change for a twenty
when you had paid with a ten, it wasn't stealing to pocket the change. Too bad,
their mistake, this would teach them to be more careful. It wasn't stealing to
take home some office supplies from where I worked. They would never miss
a few little items out of stock, besides they owed me for the extra I gave them
on the job.
Bending rules wasn't sin.
Rules were just guidelines. Cops aren't going to pull you over if your just a
few miles above the speed limit. When I was 13 shoplifting "Girlie"
magazines from the newsstand, hey, what was I suppose to do. I didn't want to
steal, I wanted to pay for them, but they wouldn't sell such magazines to someone
my age. I had to steal them. It was their
fault.
(When I got caught and the
store owner told me what he was going to do with those magazines if he ever
caught me stealing again [funny how he called it stealing] I stopped
stealing...anything. See, threat of punishment is a deterrent to some. But that
is a discussion for another Post.)
Most of what I did didn't
seem really wrong. It might be frowned upon by some, but what they didn't know wouldn't
hurt me, now would it. And besides, what I did was my private business and
it didn't hurt them either.
Somehow I didn't think what
some minister was preaching from his pulpit was his private business. I didn't
want someone telling me I couldn't go watch a live nude dancer at a "Art
Theater", but I thought it was just fine and dandy for me to go tell a
preacher what he could say in his own church.
Why was I always getting
angry enough at pastors to make the effort to confront them?
"Ask and it will be given
to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be
opened." Matthew 7:7-8
I think I was seeking and
knocking. When I went and had these arguments with these ministers, I was
hoping one of them would win the argument and prove me wrong. I said I was an
Atheist, then why was I reading Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible. If I denied the
existence of God, of Heaven and of Hell, shouldn't I have been denying the
existence of the Devil as well? Why was I filling my library with every book
written to disclaim Christianity: the Passover Plot, Chariots of the Gods, The
Death of God, etc.?
Why had I published
"God Resurrected" in response to the "God is Dead"
movement? Why was I creating my own theology if I didn't believe in Theos? Was
I trying to convince others I was right or prove to myself I was wrong?
But then God knocked on my
door with the heartbeats of a baby. I tripped over the narrow path and this led
me to confront the fence and the small gate. I had come to the second step to SS.
It is similar to the second step of Alcohol Anonymous: Came to believe that a Power greater
than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
I started to realize my
behavior had hurt others. I had hurt my mother with my attacks on her pastor. I
had hurt my wife with my addiction to pornography. I had come to a belief in
God. I stood at the gate, but I still had to find the key to going through the
hole in the fence and becoming a SS member.
I know, I know, I still
haven't said what SS means. I promise I'll eventually say.
5
TELLING OF THE FENCE HOLE IS
BEING…
Mark 4:11-12; Matthew 13:11-17; Luke 8:9
His disciples asked him what this
parable meant.
He replied [and] told them,
" The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will
have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from
him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you
will be ever seeing but never perceiving’.
For this people's heart has become
calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with
their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because
they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many
prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and
to hear what you hear but did not hear it. But to
those on the outside everything is said in parables so that they may be ever
seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
Back several years, when
Tucker was a young dog, he kept escaping from the yard. This seemed nearly
impossible, how could he do it? Not only was our yard completely surrounded by
shrubbery, I had erected a wire fence behind the bushes and trees from the
pillar of our house to its post. The fence is green and it is nearly invisible
to the naked eye. None the less it existed.
But there he would be,
running wild and free through the streets with a gleeful smile, laughing as I
attempted to chase him down.
I inspected the yard more
than once and found no gaps. There was no possibility of him jumping the fence.
My only chance to find his escape route was to catch him in the act. But he was
a shrewd and cunning creature. I would let him out, then watch through the
glass of the door. He would trot to the center of the yard, then look back,
study the house, see me watching and be content to stay where he stood.
After a while I would tire
and leave him to his business. Minutes later I would be chasing him around the
block.
I had to go stealth. One day
I left him out and walked away from the door. I ran around to the dining room,
snuck to the rear windows in a crouch, and peeked out a corner just over the
sill. He was studying the house and thought me gone. A moment passed, he peered
back again and then trotted quickly to the right, disappearing behind a large
bush. Next I saw his tail wagging across the neighbor's yard, a flag of
victory.
He had found a hole in the
soft dirt behind the bush and an old log. It was just big enough, with a little
clawing, to squeeze his body through under the fence. If he had not led me
there, I would have never found it as hidden as it was. It took a while to find
it even so and if I hadn't believed it had to be there after he fled across the
lot next door, I would have still thought there was no way out.
I, of course, plugged up
that escape route.
Someday, God may close up
his escape route, but not yet.
God left a hole in the fence
erected between us and Him. You have to find the hole, but first you have
to see the fence.
Can you see the fence around
my yard in the photos? It's difficult to see standing in my yard, but it is
there; it just blends into the shrubbery. It is the same with the fence between
mankind and God, some people never notice it. Some don't even look for it,
other's deny it is there. There are those who acknowledge the fence, but aren't
concerned about it. And there are those who understand the fence, but don't
know how to find the escape route.
…for, "Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the
one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they
have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And
how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful
are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:13-15
When you think about it, if
you are in the SS you don't have a lot of duties. You are outside the fence and
have great freedom. You are not restrained by all the 600 plus points of The
Law. You don't have a long list of Do's and Don't you must follow diligently.
You don't have to put on a tie when you go to church -- you don't even have
to go to church. No, we have only a few commands and we often find them
difficult. One of these is to tell people about the club and how to join.
We aren't an exclusive club. We welcome anyone, and would welcome
everyone if it were possible.
Those who reject us, those
who will not even listen or those who would shut us up altogether mustn’t
discourage us. There are those who never hear and never see. But there are
those who see the fence and want to escape and they need to hear because their
ears have been opened. The problem is we don't always know who those with open
ears are. We need to tell all. It isn't our responsibility who is drawn to our
club, only that they know where to find the hole in the fence and how to get
through it.
I have a fence around my
yard. When I erected it I thought it was impenetrable, but there was an escape
hole. I would not have found that hole if my dog had not shown the way. In his
case, he didn't want me to know. In our case, we want everyone to know even if
they hate us for telling them.
And why do we tell them?
Because we love them even if they don't care too much for us. After all, many
of us were once one of 'them'. It took me a long time to acknowledge the fence,
but I'd still be inside it if someone hadn't shown me the escape hole. And once
I hated those Bible-thumpers, too.
Now as a Saved Sinner Club
member, I find these words very sad: 'You will
be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never
perceiving’.
For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear
with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with
their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I
would heal them.
There are some who may see and may hear. Don't let them down by
being silent.
6
SOWING THE SEED IS BEING…
Mark 4:13-20; Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15
Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this
parable? How then will you understand any parable? Listen then, this is the
meaning to what the parable of the sower means:
“The seed is the word of God. The farmer [Christians] sows the word.
Some people are like seed along the path When anyone hears the
message about the kingdom where the word is sown and does not understand it, as
soon as they hear it the evil one, Satan comes and snatches away what was sown
in [their] heart and takes away the word that was sown in them, so that they
may not believe and be saved. This is the seed sown along the path (those are
the ones who hear then the devil comes).
“Others, those on the rock, like seed sown on rocky places, are
the one[s] who received the seed that fell on rocky places, the [men] who hear
the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they
last only a short time. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing
they fall away. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they
quickly fall away.
“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, the one[s] who
received the seed that fell among the thorns, stand for the [men] who hear the
word, but as they go on their way the worries of this life, the deceitfulness
of wealth choke it, and the desires for other things come in and choke the
word, making it unfruitful. They are choked by life's worries, riches and
pleasures, and they do not mature.
“But Others, like seed sown on good soil, stand for those with a noble and
good heart, the ones who received the seed that fell on good soil [are] the
[men] who hear the word, accept it, retain it, and understands it and produce, by persevering, a crop— yielding a thirty, sixty or even a
hundred times what was sown."
When I attended college (I worked all day and went to evening
school), one of the courses I was dreading was Speech. But it was a required
course and I finally took it during summer session. Once I got my feet wet, it
wasn't bad; in fact, I came to enjoy it. It helped to realize all of us
students were in the same boat. And eventually we were all going to face the
judgment of the professor and either fail or pass, and since it was a required
course, you couldn't afford to fail.
Being the summer session, the class time was twice as long as
normal and so we had a break halfway through each evening. We would gather in
the hall (some would smoke, it was allowed inside buildings in those ancient
days) and encourage each other.
I guess the transition here is blatently obvious. Living our
life is a required course. At the end of the session we will all be judged and
either pass of fail. Unlike a college class, there is no do-over. There is no
dropping out either. We get our final mark and our final assignment when we
die, whether our organs dissolve at 102 years of age or whether we put a gun to
our temple at age 21. We are all in the same boat, the problem is all of us
don't realize it. Well, how will those who don't know learn that fact if we who
know don't tell them. We need to be out in the hallways of life sowing the
kernels of truth that will enable others to pass the course. That is all we can
do, we can't pass it for them.
THE SOWER
The painting illustrating this piece is "The Sower"
(1881) by Vincent Van Gogh. It's getting late in the day, the sun is sinking.
There is a field in the background that looks near ready for harvest, but the
farmer is still sowing seeds, trying to plant a final crop before night falls.
There is a urgency in his pace. The ground is pretty rough and uninviting, a
hard path runs down its center, rocks are here and there, and birds follow
behind plucking up some of his seed as soon as it falls.
But the Sower pays no heed to the difficult terrain. He knows
the hour is late and he knows there is still some good soil interweaved with
the obstacles and the birds will gobble up only the easy pickings. The
Sower isn't discouraged by the seed that falls on the rocky and hard ground. He
does what he does, which is scattering the seed. This is the farmer we want to
be, having heard the word, he accepted it, retained it, and understood it and by
persevering is planting a new crop, even though the
hour is late.
Pray we aren't the ones among thorns. There are Christians who
sprout from the scattered seeds as stalks without corn and vines without
grapes. There the farmers kicked back in the distance house worrying over the
cost of seed rather than scattering it.
They are like the student who is more interested in doodling in
the textbook, than reading it; playing video games to homework; but makes
enough effort to slide through the class with a D. We want to be the student
who gains the A, or at least a B. So remember this, if you are going to succeed
in Speech Class, you have to speak.
If you are going to raise crops, you have to scatter the
seed.
7
ONE MORE STEP TO BEING…
Elijah
was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did
not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the
heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers, if one of you
should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this:
Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and
cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:17-19
There is a rabbit hole in
the wall built between God and us. The wall exists for everyone and the rabbit
hole does, too. Some claim not to see a wall. I don't think they are blind to
it; I think they just deny it. Either way, if you don't see or recognize the
wall, you can't find the hole.
Sometimes God has to slap
you upside the head before you see both.
I've told in my past posts
how he got my attention and led me to the hole.
But even if you recognize
the wall, that is admit you sin, and even if you see the hole, that's not the
final step. You have to trust the hole is there and it is your only escape.
Many people don't believe
that. People think it doesn't matter what you believe, just that you are
sincere. I'm sorry, but that is so illogical as to be silly. I could sincerely
believe I could take a nap in the middle of an interstate, but it won't stop an
18-wheeler running over my belief system.
A lot of people think they
can get beyond the wall by their own effort. There are a great number of
religions for one to pick from in this world. As far as I know, they all hand
you a shovel to dig your way under the wall between you and God; all but one,
anyway, and that is Christianity. Christ didn't hand out a shovel, He just held
out His hand to anyone willing to take hold and be pulled through the hole.
A Christian is someone who
got to the other side of the hole. They can't pull you though. They can say,
hey come on over here the Son shines great, but that is it. You are free to
reject the hole or go off searching for a big gate. You can ask what makes us
think we're right. What makes you think we aren't? We all are going to die. We
can agree on that, can't we? It seems an important question to ask what happens
after death? Nothing or something? If something, what? The answer to the
question influences the way we live and if we choose the wrong answer, well,
the consequence could be very dire.
When I came to that
question, a man was talking about Elijah being a man like me. Something in that
passage and what was said about it seemed directed at me and two days later I
took His hand and went through the hole. I believe in Christ. I have no choice
but to tell you Christ is the only way to God. Otherwise, I would be a
hypocrite in claiming to be Christian. What you decide to believe is your decision.
Just don't say Jesus was a good and wise man, for if He is not the only way to
god, then He was a madman at best and a liar at worse.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father but by me." John 14:6
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and
those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Matthew 11:27
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day." John 6:40
"I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting
life." John 6:47
"I give [my followers] eternal life, and they shall never
perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to
me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and
the Father are one." John 10:28-30
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes
in me will never die...'" John 11:25
I love reading your blogs and how you just share your heart!! Love you brother!!
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